The OBC is an international monastic order of men and women, who, together with lay ministers of the Order and our congregations and affiliated meditation groups, are dedicated to practicing the Serene Reflection Meditation tradition of Buddhism, also called Soto Zen.

Our practice was passed on by the late Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett, the founder of the OBC. Reverend Master Jiyu left behind her career as a professional musician and her life in England to travel to Malaysia and Japan to become a monk. After undergoing rigorous monastic training in Japan and being certified to teach, she brought our present practice to the west where it is now blossoming.

“When meditation and preceptual living bear fruit, our entire outlook on life begins to change, and this is the arising of the mind of the Bodhisattva. What seemed to “matter” before no longer seems important; what comes to the forefront instead is the necessity to live by a few very simple things: charity, tenderness, benevolence, sympathy, and gratitude. The first four of these are what are known as “the signs of enlightenment”, what to look for if you are really keeping the precepts. This is what you should see in someone who is really keeping the precepts and who has found the Eternal. The fifth, gratitude, is one of the special foundations of the Serene Reflection, or Soto Zen, way.”

Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett

The above quote is excerpted from a commentary on Great Master Dogen’s Shushogi and is found in theThe Roar Of The Tigress. (Shasta Abbey Press, 1st edtion, 2000, page 150.)